The Road: Case 1 Philip Hughes
by Joe Chip
Summary: In an alternate U.C. 0083 the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon rages on. This is the story of three Federation test pilots and their role in the conflict. Blue Destiny fans, don't miss this!
1. Prelude

The Road: Case 1 Philip Hughes  
  
Prelude  
  
By Talonblade  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam or any characters contained in this story.  
  
The rays of the afternoon sun shined off the orange and white armor of two mechs as they made their way across a desert in southern California. These were mobile suits, or MS, giant humanoid shaped robots, the high-tech weapons of choice in the era. More specifically these two were Powered GMs, part of the Earth Federation's GM series of mobile suits. They each carried a 90mm machinegun in their right hand and had a large metal shield attached to their left forearm.  
  
With great strides they moved quickly across the burning sands. In the distance the pilots could see the city that was their destination. As they got closer it was easy to tell no one had lived there for some time. Most of the buildings had been damaged, apparently by heavy weaponry, and many others were completely bombed out ruins. Abandoned cars littered the streets and trash blew around like tumbleweed.  
  
As the two GMs reached the edge of the city the one in the lead slowed to a halt.  
  
"Hold it Samana," the first pilot cautioned his partner. "Let me take a look around first."  
  
"Go ahead Philip," Samana answered as he brought his own MS to a stop.  
  
Using his mobile suit's thrusters Philip took to the sky, rising high into the air to get a better view of the city in front of them. Once airborne he used his GM's multiple cameras to scan the cities vacant streets. Suddenly movement on the other side of the city caught Philip's eye. It was two other mobile suits and they were heading his way fast. Philip recognized them as Zaku IIs, mobile suits used by the enemy, the Principality of Zeon.  
  
Philip cut his thrusters letting his GM drop like a stone. His MS hit the ground hard but the shock-absorption system in its legs dealt with the impact pretty well. Philip just hoped they hadn't spotted him.  
  
"What is it?!"Samana asked intently.  
  
"There are two Zakus heading right toward us," Philip explained. "Now this is what we're going to do..."  
  
Within minutes the Zakus were in the maze of skyscrapers that was the heart of the city. They were white and blue in color with metal shields attached to their right shoulders and they carried 120mm machineguns. The Zakus stopped when they entered a huge intersection near the center of the city and one of them prepared to go airborne so he would have a better vantage point.  
  
Suddenly Philip and Samana's GMs exploded through the wall of a nearby building taking the Zakus completely by surprise. Philip and Samana opened up on them at point blank range and would have surely killed them both if they were firing real ammo. Instead they raked them with dozens of paint rounds.  
  
"Aw shit! Not again!" one of the Zaku pilots shouted.  
  
"Oh yeah! That's another fifty you owe me Jim," Philip gloated.  
  
"Ok, that concludes today's testing, all mobile suits return to base," a voice said over all of their comm. systems.  
  
They acknowledged and headed for home, one of the more than 20 military bases along the west coast of North America collectively called the California Base. After docking his mobile suit in the assigned hanger 2nd Lieutenant Philip Hughes climbed out of the cockpit and took off his helmet. He was a tall, well-built man with short spiky blond hair and a square jaw. Philip made his way to the ground and started walking toward the two gigantic doors that were open at the front of the hanger.   
  
Samana finished docking his own mobile suit and caught up with Philip just as he reached the massive doors. Warrant Officer Samana Feuris was short with a slight build and a mop of shiny black hair that came down to his neck. They hopped in a jeep waiting for them outside and with Philip behind the wheel they headed for another part of the base.   
  
"Are you excited about our next mission?" Samana asked as they drove.  
  
"Hell yeah! All these simulations and war games with the Powered GMs can only go on so long before a guy starts itching for some real combat again!" Philip said as he gripped the wheel tighter with anticipation.  
  
"But isn't it the job of us in the Experimental Corps to run tests and gather data?" Samana asked.  
  
"Yeah, but it's also our job to give the newest mobile suit models their "trial by fire" by taking them into full-blown combat for the first time," Philip pointed out. "That's where the fun comes in!"  
  
"You're right, but we don't even know what the new mission will be yet, all we've heard are rumors. How do you know we'll even see any combat?" Samana wondered.  
  
"Aw man! Why you gotta bring me down?" Philip griped.  
  
A minute later Philip pulled up to the base's officers' club. He parked their jeep in front alongside some others and they headed into the club. Inside several MS pilots sat at small tables or at the bar and a couple more were playing pool at a billiard table. Samana and Philip's eyes had to adjust as they went from the harsh light of the setting sun to the dimly lit interior of the club. When they could see again they walked over to the bar and sat down.  
  
"Where's Yu?" Philip asked Samana after ordering a beer.  
  
"He's running some last minute tests with the GP01, but he should meet us soon," Samana assured him after ordering himself a beer as well.  
  
Philip and Samana drank their beers and talked at the bar for a few minutes before the door to the club opened again. This time 1st Lieutenant Yu Kajima walked in. Yu was average height with a medium build and a hairstyle that was both floppy and spiky, but his most striking feature was his blue hair color. Samana and Philip saw him and waved him over.  
  
"Have a seat Yu," Philip offered.  
  
"Thanks," Yu said as he sat down.  
  
"So, have you heard anything else about our up coming mission?" Philip asked with an anticipating grin.  
  
"Earlier today the colonel told me that the Pegasus-class assault carrier Albion is due to arrive here in two days. The Gundam Prototype Unit One is to be loaded on board and taken to Anaheim Electronics' Von Braun factory on the moon, where it will be upgraded for use in space. Our mission will be to make sure that it arrives safely. We will all be officially briefed tomorrow," Yu explained.  
  
The smile left Philip's face and was replaced with a look of disappointment.  
  
"Is something the matter?" Yu asked.  
  
"Nothing...It's just...It's just that I was hoping it would be something a little more...you know...exciting..." Philip said.  
  
Three days later he was thrown from his bed as a powerful explosion rocked the Albion. He had barely gotten to his feet before the voice of Jacqueline Smith, one of the ship's bridge officers, came over the intercom.  
  
"All mobile suits scramble!" she shouted.  
  
Philip's heart pounded as adrenaline pumped threw his veins. Quickly he suited up for space combat, grabbed his helmet, then rushed out of his quarters and down the corridor. When he got to the launch bays Yu and Samana were already getting into their mobile suits and Philip hurried to get aboard his own MS.  
  
In another minute they were good to go. Philip and Yu were in GM Customs. Solid gray with numerous vernier thrusters imbedded in their armor they held 90mm rifles in their right hands and had large metal shields attached to their left forearms. Samana was in a GM Cannon II. Light and dark gray with extra heavy armor the GM Cannon had dual beam cannons mounted on its shoulders and carried a 90mm rifle in its right hand.  
  
"Attention pilots, we are under attack by three Musai class cruisers and an unknown number of mobile suits. Prepare for immediate launch!" they heard Jacqueline say.  
  
"Well Philip, you got your action," Philip thought to himself.  
  
Within moments they had launched into the sea of stars. Philip looked around and could see the blue light from the thrusters of dozens of enemy mobile suits along with the Musai class cruisers. Almost immediately three Zeon mobile suits closed in on them, two Rick Dom IIs and a Zaku II Kai.  
  
The Rick Dom II's were gray and blue with unique skirt like armor around their waists that protected multiple thrusters and they carried 360mm bazookas. The Zaku II Kai was all green and looked very similar to the standard Zaku II. It had a shield attached to its right shoulder and carried a low-caliber, high-velocity machinegun. Because it was easier to pilot than most other Zeon mobile suits the Kai was often assigned to novice pilots.  
  
"Here they come!" Yu said pointing at them with his GM's hand.  
  
"I'll take the rookie!" Philip yelled as he broke from formation and attacked.  
  
Yu was about to say something about not being so rash but realizing it was pointless didn't bother. Instead he just muttered "baka" under his breath and told Samana to watch their backs as he jetted off after Philip. Samana followed them at a distance so he could provide covering fire.  
  
The young pilot of the Zaku II turned out to be just as reckless as Philip, charging him head-on, his machinegun blazing. Punching the thrusters Philip pushed his GM Custom for all it was worth, avoiding as many of the high-velocity bullets as possible and absorbing the rest with his mobile suit's shield.  
  
When the barrage ceased as the Zaku II roared past Philip turned his suit to face his enemy's exposed rear. Raising his 90mm Rifle he took aim and wasted the Zion from behind. He couldn't help but smile at the grotesque beauty of the Zaku's perfectly spherical explosion in zero gravity. It was things like this that kept him warm at night.  
  
Yu went after one of the Rick Dom IIs. Taking full advantage of the speed and maneuverability provided by his GM Custom's vernier thrusters and apogee motor, he became a blur of motion as he zigzagged his way to his target, easily avoiding the rounds from the Dom's 360mm bazooka. Drawing his beam saber once in range, Yu sliced the Dom in half at the waist. It exploded a second later.  
  
While all this was going on Samana was engaged in fierce combat with the second Dom. Samana had tried to hang back to provide cover for Philip and Yu, but one of the Doms had charged right past them and straight for him. Now they were locked in a heated dogfight. Samana fired his beam cannons over and over again and opened up with his 90mm rifle as the Dom fired round after round from its bazooka back at him but neither pilot could get an advantage when suddenly-  
  
"Yeeeehaaaaaaaaa!!!!"  
  
Philip came diving down from above them screaming like a madman and blazing away at the Dom with his 90mm rifle. The Rick Dom II was riddled with bullets and exploded almost instantly. Everything happened so fast that for a second Samana couldn't figure out why the Dom had suddenly exploded, then Philip flew right between him and the explosion and he realized what had happened.  
  
"Thanks," Samana said.  
  
"No Problemo!" Philip replied confidently as he removed the spent clip from his rifle and slapped in a fresh one.  
  
"Don't get cocky!" Yu scolded Philip.  
  
Meanwhile the Albion closed the gap between it and the nearest Musai class cruiser as power from its nuclear fusion reactor charged the assault carrier's mega particle cannons. Once in range massive beams of energy fired out across the vacuum of space and skewered the Zeon ship. Seconds later it was enveloped in a brilliant ball of light.   
  
Around the Albion the mobile suit battle raged on. Even though the Zeons sorely outnumbered them the superior skills and experience of the three Federation pilots were making all the difference as Zeon MS were destroyed one by one.  
  
Philip parried a Dom's heat saber with his beam saber and kicked the Dom in the midsection knocking it backwards. Then, while its pilot was stunned, he lunged forward and drove his energy blade through the Dom's cockpit. As he pulled his weapon out of the lifeless Dom Philip heard Yu's voice over his comm. system.  
  
"Split up. Philip, Samana, you take the cruiser to the Albion's port side. I'll take the one to its starboard side," Yu ordered.  
  
Philip put away the beam saber and moved the 90mm rifle to his GM's left hand. With the right hand grabbed a 360mm bazooka that was floating about with the wreckage of a Dom. Along with Samana he jetted off toward the cruiser on the Ablion's port side.  
  
At the same time Yu closed in on the other Musai class cruiser. Destroying and dodging enemy MS along the way he finally reached the Zeon vessel. Nimbly dodging fire from the cruiser's lasers, Yu flew right up to the bridge and slashed it with his beam saber. Air and people were sucked out into space thought the massive rupture in the ship's haul.  
  
With its bridge destroyed the Musai was practically dead in the water. Yu saw the Albion moving in for the kill and got out of the way. A moment later the assault carrier finished off the crippled vessel with a volley from its mega particle cannons.  
  
Samana and Philip fought their way past the remaining Zeon mobile suits and began to rain fire down on the last enemy ship. The cruiser fired back but the MS were much too small and maneuverable for it to target successfully. Rounds from Philip's captured bazooka and shots from Samana's beam cannons ripped apart the vessel's haul until in was finally consumed in a massive explosion.  
  
With the third Zeon ship destroyed the Federation pilots concentrated on mopping up any surviving enemy mobile suits. Within a few minutes they were all destroyed except for one. Yu chased the last of the Zeon MS and peppered it with fire from his 90mm rifle until it finally exploded.  
  
"That was the last of them," Philip said.  
  
"Ok, let's get back to the ship," Yu said.  
  
Returning to the Albion Philip grinned as adrenaline still lingering in his system. This mission was turning out to be much more exciting than he expected. Yu, however, was less enthused. He knew that the Zions wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of tracking and laying an ambush for a lone Federation ship unless they thought there was something especially important about it. He had to assume that Zion knew about the GP01 and if they were after it you could bet that they wouldn't stop with just one attack. This was only the beginning  
  
Somewhere in orbit around the earth's moon Commander Cima Garahau sat on the bridge of the Lili Marlene, a highly improved version of Zeon's Zanzibar class mobile cruiser. She was a tall, attractive woman with long raven black hair. The chair she sat in was more like a thrown with a large white tiger skin draped over it and combined with her elaborate dress uniform and the Japanese folding fan she held it gave her a dramatic aura.  
  
"Those fools! There were only three Feddy mobile suits!" Cima said upon hearing of the defeat.  
  
"Yes Ma'am. But our intelligence says these were no ordinary Fed pilots. They're the ones who wiped out Abraham's team. Plus their leader took out Nimbus Schtazen and his Ifreet Kai," Cima's deputy commander informed her.  
  
"Hhmm...That changes things a bit. Have my personal Gelgoog prepped for battle. I will lead our assault personally. Fighting these pilots could prove...interesting," Cima said as an evil smile crossed her face.  
  
Ok, there's the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I can use all the help I can get so please leave a review. The more reviews I receive the faster I'll update. 


	2. Transfer of power

The Road: Case 1 Philip Hughes Transfer of Power  
  
By Talonblade  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam or any characters contained in this story.  
  
In the cold void of space a group of Federation cargo ships and their escort of cruisers were making their way to the lunar city of Von Braun. In their holds the cargo ships carried Gundalium alloy meant for the Anaheim Electronics facilities on the moon. Suddenly the pilot of the lead ship noticed a glint in the blackness ahead of them.  
  
Straining his vision he could see some kind of object coming in fast. As it quickly closed in details of the object became easier to make out. The pilot's eyes grew wide as he realized what it was.  
  
"Oh my god...It's a Gunda-!!!"  
  
Before he could finish a massive beam of plasma obliterated the pilot and his ship. The other transports and escorts followed shortly after.  
  
"Those who lay eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about it."  
  
At Von Braun the Albion was finally entering port. With it was an escort of Federation ships dispatched from Von Braun when the Albion had sent out a call for assistance. Though they arrived too late to assist in the battle they escorted the Albion the rest of the way just in case there was another attack.  
  
As the Albion pulled into port the crew was finally able to let its guard down after a very stressful final leg of their journey. After checking in with his superiors Captain Eiphar Synapse allowed the crew and pilots a period of shore leave as the GP01 was unloaded and reconfigured to its Full-Vernian form.  
  
There was a jubilant mood as the young men and women of the Albion spilled out of the ship anxious for a night of revelry. Not only was the city of Von Braun home to Anaheim Electronics' lunar factory it was also a truly massive city with all the theaters, parks, clubs, bars, museums and other attractions one would expect from a major earth city like New York or Paris.  
  
The crew split up into smaller groups and went their separate ways as they left the port area. Yu, Samana and Philip were together as always and with them were bridge officers Jaqueline Simon and Peter Scott. They hit a series of bars and by one o'clock in the morning found themselves in a particularly seedy establishment in the bad part of town.  
  
Sitting at a table nursing a glass of bourbon and ice Philip looked around at his comrades with alcohol clouded vision. Samana and Jaqueline were singing a drunken country-western duet at the karaoke machine, Peter was passed out at the table next to him, and Yu was sitting in the corner quietly drinking saki, a serious look upon his face.  
  
With a great amount of concentration Philip rose to his feet. Impressively he made it to Yu's table almost without stumbling and most importantly without spilling his bourbon. Philip took a seat in front of Yu.  
  
"Why the sour expression Yu?" Philip asked.  
  
"It's nothing," Yu responded.  
  
Philip raised an eyebrow and gave Yu a disbelieving look. Yu sighed knowing that Philip wouldn't stop now until he got the truth.  
  
"It just seems strange to be celebrating. The Zeons are still going to be after the Gundam. We're all still in danger."  
  
Philip's face suddenly became very serious. Despite his drunkenness he managed to sit up straight in his chair and look Yu in the eye.  
  
"You think I don't know that? Listen Yu, every time we go out it's like rolling the dice. Tomorrow, next week, next month, we could die any day. It's all chance. There's not much we can do about it so what's the point in worrying? We're just trying to live life to the fullest while we're still here."  
  
Yu had a hard time finding a flaw in Philip's logic.  
  
"If you think about it to much you'll just make yourself crazy," Philip added.  
  
Yu saw Philip's point and his face brightened a little.  
  
"Come on! Join the party!" Philip said getting up.  
  
To Yu's surprise Philip grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. Philip then began pulling Yu towards the karaoke machine.  
  
"I've got the perfect song!" Philip announced.  
  
"Oooohhh no! I'm not drunk enough to start singing at that thing!" Yu protested.  
  
"Sure you are!" Philip said laughing as he pulled Yu towards the whistling and cheering Jaqueline and Samana.  
  
Two days and a severe hangover later the crew and pilots were back to work testing the Gundam prototype. With the GP01 Full-Vernian on board the Albion returned to space and headed for the coordinates that had been designated for the Gundam's testing. When they reached the destination Yu launched in the prototype.  
  
The Gundam Prototype Unit One, codename: Zephyranthes was the latest in the Earth Federation's series of Gundam mobile suits. Like its predecessors the newest model had a red, blue, and white color scheme and in the Full-Vernian form it had numerous thrusters for added maneuverability in space. It carried a beam rifle in its right hand and had a shield attached to the left forearm.  
  
Yu started out by performing some basic maneuvers. The Gundam responded perfectly so the tests were alloyed to proceed. The Albion launched a number of unmanned drones. Yu took aim with the Gundam's beam rifle and fired, hitting one of the drones dead center.  
  
As Yu lined up another shot final preparations were being made just out of the Albion's sensor range. Cima and her force of Zeon marines were suiting up to ambush the Gundam prototype. On board her flagship, the Lili Marleen, Cima climbed into her customized commander's version of the Gelgoog Marine.  
  
When the first attack on the Gundam failed Cima was given the responsibility of capturing or destroying the prototype. She had no intention of repeating her predecessor's failure. With an elite force armed with powerful Gelgoogs under her command Cima stood a good chance of succeeding where they did not.  
  
"Cima, our forces are ready to attack," Detroff Cosell, Cima's deputy commander, reported over the radio.  
  
"Good. We launch in three minutes. The second MS team with will cut off the Gundam from its ship and prevent any attempts to reinforce it. The rest of you will follow me and attack the Gundam head on," Cima said.  
  
Three minutes later a dozen Gelgoogs launched into space. Cima's commander's unit was purple and bronze in color and was armed with a beam rifle. The other Gelgoog Marines were green and gray and carried 90mm machineguns. With great speed they closed in the on the GP01.  
  
On the bridge of the Albion alarms sounded as the Zeon mobile suits entered sensor range. Jaqueline Simon screamed a warning to Yu over the radio but he had already seen them. Knowing it was too late to retreat, Yu prepared for the onslaught.  
  
He was quickly surrounded by enemy MS who fired at the Gundam from all directions. Yu drew a bead on one of the Gelgoogs and blew it away with his beam rifle while avoiding machinegun rounds from the other mobile suits. He then ignited a beam saber and charged the nearest Gelgoog. The Zeon pilot was taken off guard by the Gundam's speed and Yu slashed his mobile suit in half.  
  
"He's good," Cima acknowledged silently to herself, shocked at how quickly two Gelgoogs were destroyed.  
  
Meanwhile the Albion sent out a distress signal to Von Braun but help wouldn't arrive for at least ten minutes. They would have to fend for themselves until then. Philip and Samana were already in their mobile suits by now and they were quickly launched to assist the GP01. They piloted the same GM Custom and GM Cannon that they used in the earlier battle.  
  
"Damn! I didn't think they would have the balls to attack us this close to Von Braun. Their commander must be insane!" Philip said as they raced towards the battle.  
  
As they rushed to Yu's aid though the Federation pilots suddenly came under fire from three Gelgoog Marines that had split off from the rest.  
  
"Crap!" Philip spat in disgust.  
  
Yu was still holding his own against the attackers, but just barely. He aimed his beam rifle and wasted another Gelgoog as the Zeons pressed their attack. A second Gelgoog jetted towards Yu, beam saber in hand. Yu deflected his enemy's blade then opened up with the Gundam's head vulcans and destroyed the Gelgoog.  
  
All the while Cima was hanging back from the battle, waiting for the right time to strike. She took careful aim with her beam rifle and as Yu was fending off the Gelgoog she fired three times. Yu saw the incoming beams of energy at the last second and managed to dodge the first two but the last shot hit the Gundam's beam rifle destroying it.  
  
"Shit!" Yu growled, the first cracks starting to appear in his usually cool exterior.  
  
"Now we have him!" Cima yelled to her men as she drew her beam saber and charged the Gundam.  
  
Yu moved his beam saber to the Gundam's right hand and used it to block Cima's blade as her Gelgoog slammed into him at top speed. The Gundam was knocked backyard, but just a little before Yu kicked in the thrusters and began pushing back against Cima's suit. Their beam sabers sparked and hissed as they were pressed together between the colossal machines.  
  
At the same time three Gelgoogs were keeping Samana and Philip at bay. So far the fight had been evenly matched with neither side able to get the upper hand. Suddenly a shot from Samana's beam cannons skewered a Gelgoog and it exploded.  
  
"I got one!" Samana yelled triumphantly.  
  
"Watch out!" Philip tried to warn him, but it was to late.  
  
One of the Gelgoogs had gotten behind Samana and it raked him with its 90mm machinegun. The GM Cannon II shook violently as the bullets slammed into its back leaving smoking craters. Philip fired his rifle at the attacker but it dodged and flew off.  
  
"Samana! Are you ok?!" Philip yelled.  
  
"Y-yeah," Samana answered weakly. The mobile suit's heavy armor had saved Samana's life but his MS has now crippled.  
  
Cima and Yu continued their duel, clashing beam sabers again and again. Suddenly another Gelgoog rushed Yu firing its machinegun. Already busy with Cima, Yu was unable to dodge and the Gundam was peppered with bullets. Fortunately the suit's Gundalium alloy was able to absorb the impacts with little damage. Without his beam rifle and desperate Yu drew his other beam saber and threw it. The Gelgoog was impaled by the blade and exploded.  
  
While Yu was distracted Cima suddenly pulled back and fired her beam rifle. There was no way to dodge at such close range and the beam struck the side of the Gundam's torso. There was an explosion on the inside of the cockpit as the shot tore through the Gundam's armor and jagged chunks metal were sent flying into Yu's chest. Yu screamed in pain and slumped forward as the lights flickered and dimmed.  
  
"No! Yu!" Philip shouted.  
  
There was no way for him to help his friend. Philip could barely keep himself and Samana alive at this point. He was fighting two Gelgoogs and protecting Samana whose mobile suit could hardly move. His piloting skills were stretched to their limit.  
  
It's ammo exhausted, one of the Gelgoogs drew its beam saber and rushed Philip with startling speed, swinging its blade down at the head of Philip's GM. Philip quickly drew his own beam saber and blocked his opponent's blade in midair. Then, pressing this rifle's barrel to the Gelgoog's cockpit, he blew it away at point blank range.  
  
"Yu! Talk to me!" Philip yelled into the radio, but there was no response.  
  
Inside the GP01's cockpit Yu was passed out and the Gundam floated lifelessly. Cima smiled wickedly at her prize. Wouldn't her superiors be pleased when she brought them the Federation's newest Gundam, and in almost perfect condition.  
  
"Ok, lets get this sucker back to the ship," Cima said.  
  
Two Gelgoogs moved in. They grabbed the Gundam by either arm and began carrying it back to the Lili Marleen. Philip looked on in horror as Yu was dragged from the battlefield. He started to give chase but the surviving Gelgoog quickly blocked his way. Philip cursed himself. Even if he could somehow get past the last Zeon he couldn't just abandon Samana in his helpless state.  
  
As Philip wrestled with what to do the Gelgoog in front of him suddenly exploded. The explosion threw Philip's mobile suit slightly backward and at first he wasn't quite sure what had happened. Then one of the Gelgoogs carrying away the Gundam exploded as well.  
  
Philip looked around and saw the blue streak of a mobile suit's thrusters heading towards the captured Gundam. In front of the streak he could see a white mobile suit. Philip quickly recognized it as the Tallgeese, personal mobile suit of Federation ace Zechs Merquise. The Tallgeese was knightly in appearance with a dobergun, essentially a giant artillery cannon, attached to its right arm and a round shield on its left arm.  
  
"Get your wingman to safety. I'll retrieve the Gundam" Philip heard Zechs say over the radio.  
  
Philip was shocked by the sudden appearance of Zechs but he obeyed. Grabbing a hold of the damaged GM Cannon he started pulling it and Samana back towards the Albion. Zechs continued to close in on the Gundam and remaining Gelgoogs.  
  
"No, not when I'm so close!" Cima yelled.  
  
Cima and her marines opened up on the Tallgeese but Zechs easily dodged everything they threw at him. Drawing a beam saber he sliced one of the Gelgoogs in two leaving only Cima and Detroff alive.  
  
"Cima, we must retreat!" Detroff told her.  
  
"Damn you Zechs! You'll pay for humiliating me like this!" Cima vowed as they fled.  
  
Zechs didn't follow. Instead he took hold of the Gundam and carried it back to the Albion. Inside the Albion's launch bays Philip and Samana had already exited their mobile suits and they rushed to where the Tallgeese set down the Gundam. Mechanics worked feverishly to pry open the hatch to the Gundam's cockpit.  
  
The hatch finally opened to reveal Yu slumped forward with blood oozing from tears in his spacesuit. Samana and Philip carefully removed him from the cockpit and placed him on a stretcher brought by two medics. They quickly carried Yu to the infirmary.  
  
The Albion hurried back to Von Braun where Yu was taken to a hospital for surgery. In the lobby Philip and Samana waited anxiously along with members of the Albion's crew. Every now and then Philip would look down at his hands, still faintly red with blood after lifting Yu from the cockpit. After what seemed like an eternity a doctor finally appeared to address them.  
  
"Lt. Kajima is going to be fine. Fortunately the suit he whore stopped most to the shrapnel. However, he won't be piloting again anytime soon," the doctor informed them.  
  
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief but Philip went back to looking at his hands then at the floor.  
  
"Are you gonna be ok Philip?" Samana asked his friend concerned.  
  
"Yeah. Just thinking, that's all. A couple of days ago I was telling Yu why he should lighten up. I told him we could all die any day and there was no point in worrying about it, but I don't think I really believed that. Our team's been so lucky so far I've been feeling kind of invincible. For a long time now I don't think I really thought that any of us could actually get seriously hurt much less killed. Guess this is sort of a rude awakening," Philip said.  
  
"Come on Philip, your being to hard on yourself. You didn't cause Yu's injuries."  
  
"I know. It's just a reality check that's all. Having almost all of us wiped out in one battle."  
  
Just then Zechs entered the waiting room. Samana and Philip noticed him and stood up as he approached. Zechs was a tall, thin man with long blonde hair and whore a uniform that identified him as a member of the Specials, an elite branch of the Federation military. Oddly he also whore a metal helmet and facemask that hid the upper half of his face.  
  
"I came to see how the pilot of the Gundam was doing," Zechs told them.  
  
"Yu's going to be fine," Philip said.  
  
"Thank you for your help earlier," Samana said.  
  
"Just doing my job. I'm happy to hear he'll be ok, the Federation needs good pilots. You'll have to forgive me but I can't stay. I have responsibilities elsewhere. Maybe we'll see each other on the battlefield again someday."  
  
Zechs shook both of their hands and was gone.  
  
"Wow, I never thought I would actually meat the famous "Lightning Baron"," Samana said.  
  
Philip didn't seem impressed.  
  
"Even if he did save Yu's and our lives, that guy gives me the creeps"  
  
They sat back down again and waited, hoping that they would be allowed to see Yu sometime that night. Before to long Captain Synapse walked over to them. The Captain had arrived at the hospital with the rest of the crew but had been called away and was just now returning. Philip and Samana snapped to attention and saluted.  
  
"At ease gentlemen. I wanted you to hear this from me first. Admiral Cowen has been informed of Lt. Kajima's condition and doesn't believe we can afford to delay this project. There for Lt. Hughes will become the new test pilot of the Gundam Prototype Unit One. I know this is a difficult time Lieutenant but you need to be ready. You start piloting as soon as the GP01 is repaired."  
  
Philip didn't say a word. He just started walking towards the exit.  
  
"Where are you going?" Samana asked.  
  
"I'm going to do what any sane man would do after a day like today."  
  
The Captain and Samana looked at him as if to ask "And that is?"  
  
"Get stinking drunk," Philip said as he walked through the door.  
  
Ok, the second chapter is finally done. Sorry it took so long for me to finish. Hopefully the third chapter will be up faster. Please don't leave a review saying "Zechs doesn't exist in UC Gundam, blah, blah, blah." I said right in the summary that this is alternate UC 0083. This story takes place in an alternate universe of my creation and in this universe some of the characters from Gundam Wing exist. I put this story in the UC Gundam section of because it's two thirds UC Gundam with some "guest stars" from Gundam Wing. Anyway, if you read this story please leave a review. It's the very least you could do after the free entertainment I provided you. 


	3. Predators and prey

The Road: Case 1 Philip Hughes

Predators and prey

By Talonblade

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam blah, blah, blah...

Two weeks after the attempted theft of the Gundam Zephyranthes that left its first pilot Yu Kajima hospitalized replacement pilot Philip Hughes was finishing up the final tests before the GP01 would be declared ready for combat. Ever sense the Gundam was so nearly stolen security had been tightened dramatically. This time the testing was conducted much closer to Von Braun and a force of Federation ships waited nearby.

One of the last tests was a dual. Philip and the Gundam Prototype squared off against a group of Federation aces piloting the most advanced Zeon MS the Federation had managed to capture. Although all the mobile suits were armed with non-lethal ammo the battle was intense and both sides held nothing back. After several minutes of furious combat only the Gundam and one other mobile suit had not been eliminated.

Facing the Zephyranthes was a captured MS-18E Kampfer piloted by Federation test pilot Lt. South Burning. The Kampfer was painted white and blue and carried a shotgun. With numerous thrusters across its body the Kampfer had speed and maneuverability equal to any mobile suit.

South blasted away with his shotgun and Philip dodged just in time as the Kampfer rocketed by the Gundam. For the test the GP01 had traded in its beam rifle for a 90mm rifle with paint ammunition and Philip opened up on Lt. Burning as he flew past. However, the Kampfer was too agile and twisted out of the way of every round.

After another few minutes of dodging each other's fire both mobile suits had exhausted their ammo. Tossing their weapons aside each pilot drew a beam saber, except instead of extending a blade of energy each saber extended a metallic poll with enough electricity coursing through it to disable a mobile suit. The suits rushed towards each other and clashed sabers with incredible force.

Punching his thrusters Philip pressed hard against the Kampfer's saber, hoping to overpower his opponent's suit. Suddenly the Kampfer moved to the side and the Gundam scraped past leaving its back exposed. South lunged at the Gundam with his saber.

Philip pulled back hard on the controls flipping the Gundam back and over the Kampfer. As he did so Philip lashed out with his own saber striking the Kampfer on the back of the head. Electricity tore through the Kampfer knocking out most of its systems and leaving it lifeless. Victory went to Philip.

"That concludes the test. Return to the ship," a voice said over the comm. system.

Philip grabbed South's Kampfer and carried it back to the Albion. In the launch bays Philip climbed out of the Gundam and made his was towards the exit. Before he left Lt. Burning caught up to him. A tall man in his early thirties, South was a seasoned veteran who had been a pilot for the Federation sense before the war began.

"Nice job out there Hughes" he said.

"Thanks" said Philip, feeling some pride after being complimented by such a skilled pilot, but he still didn't feel completely comfortable as the Gundam's new master.

Philip headed for his quarters, somewhat tired after the dual. No sooner had he reached the door than Jacqueline Simon came running up to him.

"Sir, we just received a transmission for you. Please come with me."

Philip wondered what this could be about as he followed Jacqueline down the ship's corridors. She led him to a small room with a monitor then closed the door behind him. A moment later the monitor flickered to life revealing the face of a man that Philip recognized as Admiral John Kowen, head of the Gundam Development Plan.

"Congratulations Lieutenant. The Captain has informed me that today's test was a complete success," the Admiral said.

"Thank you sir."

"I wanted to inform you that testing of the Gundam Prototype Unit One is officially over as of today."

Philip was surprised. Testing wasn't due to end for another three days and there were two more tests scheduled.

"Changing circumstances in the war have forced us to step up our timetable. I'm confident that the GP01 is combat ready."

"I understand sir."

"All that's left is the selection of a permanent pilot. As the active pilot with the most experience piloting the Zephyranthes I've decided to offer you the job Lt. Hughes."

Philip was too shocked to speak. He had never considered this a possibility.

"Of course you would also be promoted to reflect your new responsibilities. This would be a great boast to your career, most pilots would jump at the opportunity."

"Y-Yes sir! I'd be honored sir!"

"Very good then. Report to the office of Colonel Une tomorrow at nine hundred hours for further instructions."

Before long the Albion had returned to Von Braun and Philip had gotten permission to leave the ship. The initial shock of the Admirals offer had worn off and Philip began to question his decision. He couldn't shake the notion that the Zephyranthes was really Yu's suit and he had been feeling sort of like a vulture feeding off of Yu's misfortune ever sense he started piloting it. Now those feelings were amplified.

Philip left Von Braun's port area and headed for his previously planned visit with Yu at the hospital. All the while he thought of how to break the news to his friend. When Philip reached Yu's room he found him awake and watching television. He looked a thousand times better than the night he was brought in two weeks before.

"Philip! Come in," Yu greeted him warmly.

"Hey buddy. How's it going," Philip said taking a seat.

"Can't complain. Samana came by earlier."

"Feeling any better?"

"I'm feeling fine now but they say I can't pilot for another week. How did the big test go today?"

The question sent a sting of guilt through Philip and it took a moment for him to answer. Yu looked concerned.

"Well, fine, but I just found out that the testing is over. They think that the Gundam is ready."

Philip hesitated and Yu waited for him to finish.

"They asked me to be the Gundam's assigned pilot and I said yes."

"That's great Philip!"

Philip didn't seem so sure.

"I've always wanted something like this, to be a Federation hero and all, but now I don't know how to feel. It should be you out there piloting the Gundam."

"Listen Philip. You severed your time in a GM. You earned this as much as anyone."

"Thanks Yu."

The next morning Philip headed for his appointment with the Colonel. Following the directions given to him he made his way through the Federation military's massive facilities on the moon finally coming to the door of Colonel Une. Philip knocked on the door and a woman's voice from inside said to enter.

Inside the room there was a desk with a computer, two small chairs in front of the desk and sitting in a large chair behind the desk was a thin, attractive woman with braided light-brown hair and thin-rimmed glasses. She wore the uniform of an officer in the Specials.

Philip's hart sank to his feet. He had thought the name sounded familiar and now he remembered where he heard it. Colonel Une had a reputation as a ruthless enforcer for the leader of the Specials, Treize Khushrenada.

All members of the Specials made Philip nervous. They were a bunch of snobby, militaristic freaks as far as he was concerned. Now he found himself in the office of the most unstable one.

"Have a seat Lt. Hughes," Une said.

Philip sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"Your first mission as the pilot of the Gundam Zephyranthes will be to lay an ambush. For the past month an unknown force has harassed the supply lines to Von Braun. A significant amount of Gundalium alloy has been lost in these attacks causing a delay in the production of the Gundam Prototype Units Two and Three. This is not acceptable. So a bait convoy has been set up to lure out the raiders for an ambush," Une explained.

"So what's so dangerous about this enemy that you want to send the Gundam after it?"

"We sent the standard escorts with each convoy that was attacked. There have been no survivors. Every one has been completely wiped out. Trust me, the Gundam's use is justified. You will be fully briefed on your way to the target area. You leave this afternoon."

"I wasn't aware that I would be working under the Specials."

"You're not."

After that Philip and the Unit One were sent off to join up with the false convoy that would then head back to Von Braun hoping to trick this elusive enemy into attacking. As Philip waited on board a Salamis Class Kai Cruiser many questions about the mission still bothered him. Why were the Specials involved? And why would the Federation risk losing their newest Gundam by sending it against an unknown enemy of still undetermined strength?

"Think of it as showing our faith in your abilities" is what Une had told him when Philip asked her the second question.

Philip ran his fingers along the two studs on his collar than showed his knew rank of first lieutenant. He wished they really thought he was that good, but he didn't believe it. The Specials knew more than they were telling him.

Philip headed for the launch bay. They were nearing an area where other convoys had been attacked and Philip was to stand by in the Gundam. He took a moment to admire the machine before climbing in. It was still awe inspiring to Philip.

Eighteen meters tall and weighing almost 40 tons it was made of Gundalium and armed with the most advanced weaponry available. The GP01 was the pentacle of military technology. Philip hated that he was fighting blind on this mission but just seeing the Gundam reminded him why he agreed to it.

Philip didn't have long to wait inside the Zephyranthes. A half-hour hadn't pasted before alarms could be heard sounding throughout the ship and he received the order to launch. Philip flipped the switches bringing the Gundam to life as he checked in with the ship's Captain.

"Where is the attack coming from?" Philip asked.

"Something's coming in fast from the port side. They won't respond to any of our hails."

"Ok people, hang on to your butts" Philip said.

Philip was the only pilot to launch. He was to intercept any attackers alone while the rest of decoy's escort was only to attack as a last resort. This was another detail of mission that bothered him.

He used the Gundam's cameras to scan the area of space were the boggy was coming from. Philip noticed a small glint the distance. As it got closer he could make out the shape of a jet. Philip readied his mobile suit's beam rifle.

"Is that it? This won't take five minutes." Philip grinned.

His smile quickly disappeared as the craft approached the convoy and its structure began to reconfigure. Soon it had clearly taken on the shape of a mobile suit. Philip cursed and jetted out to intercept this strange suit before it got close enough to attack the convoy.

Philip's eyes widened as he got a better look at the thing. This was no Zeon suit. In fact it had a strange resemblance to the Federation's series of Gundam's, right down to the distinctive V-shaped antennas on its forehead. The main difference between it and the suit Philip was piloting was the pair of large wings the mysterious suit had on its back.

For a moment Philip wondered if this was an enemy at all. That question was soon laid to rest as the winged Gundam raised what appeared to be a very large beam rifle. Philip was snapped out of his surprised state by the enemy's aggressive movement. He took careful aim with is own beam rifle as an orange glow began to emanate from inside the barrel of the enemy weapon and a vortex of energy began to swirl slowly around the muzzle.

Philip fired his shot first but his enemy didn't even move. Instead the mysterious Gundam simply raised the large shield attached to its left arm. To Philip's astonishment his beam shot was deflected off the shield with little damage. At the same moment a torrent of plasma ripped forth from the barrel of the winged Gundam's weapon. Philip punched his control sticks forward and the Zephyranthes jetted out of the way just in time as a river of crackling energy tore through the space where he had just been.

"...Shit!"

Philip knew that he couldn't allow his enemy to use that weapon again. He drew his mobile suit's beam saber and charged but the attacker drew its own beam saber and blocked the strike. Philip swung his saber again but the winged mobile suit rocketed up and out of the way.

"No you don't!" Philip shouted as he gave chase.

Philip's GP01 darted after the other Gundam throughout space, often drawing close to clash sabers before jetting apart again. Philip made sure that his enemy never had enough time to charge up its long-range weapon.

He took a second shot with his beam rifle but the rouge Gundam dodged it and Hughes closed in for another saber attack, but this time disaster struck as a slight miscalculation by Philip allowed the winged Gundam's blade to slip past his. The enemy's saber sliced right through the Unit One's right arm just above the wrist, severing the hand that held its beam rifle.

Panicked, Philip activated the vernier thrusters on his Gundam's chest, engulfing his enemy in blue flame. Unfazed, the other Gundam delivered a vicious kick to the mid-section of Philip's suit. The Zephyranthes was sent tumbling end over end backwards through space.

Finally Philip regained control some distance away from the winged mobile suit. To his horror when he found it again on his view screen the enemy was charging up its massive plasma weapon. As the energy began to swirl around the barrel of the rogue Gundam's weapon Philip knew there was no time for a charge with his beam saber and not enough distance to dodge the attack.

There was only one chance, taking careful aim Philip said a silent prayer and threw his beam saber. The saber was sent spinning through space towards the winged Gundam and the red energy blade cut into the barrel of the enemy's weapon. The last thing Philip saw was the other Gundam being consumed by a rapidly expanding sphere of white light that rushed towards Philip right before everything went black.

After a long moment Philip was bathed in red light as the emergency lights turned on. Philip quickly checked his control panel. Weapons and propulsion systems were out and all cameras were non-functional, the core fighter system was damaged as well, fortunately was life-support was still on-line. The other guy must be in at least as bad shape Philip told himself, maybe even dead, he allowed himself to hope. He switched on the Gundam's emergency beacon. There was nothing to do now but wait for the convoy to pick him up.

Author's notes: Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter, but I wasn't exactly getting much feedback or encouragement. Come on people! Two reviews?! I know you can do better than that! You give me reviews, I give you more chapters, that's the way it works. Anyway, expect to see more famous faces from UC and Wing including some of LC Wolf's favorites (see what happens when you write reviews). Sorry if the plot seems slow right now far. Stick around and I promise the pace with pick up as the story goes on. If anyone was wondering why I added "Case 1 Philip Hughes" to the title it's because I plan on writing other stories that take place within the same alternate "The Road" universe as this story. For now I plan on making Case 2 about Yu Kajima. Any suggestions for Case 3?


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